Posted by Mike Dennis on July 02, 2015 at 08:03:07 user MTD.
In Reply to: Re: Nicknames (let's all try a different tack) posted by Roger Wardale on July 02, 2015 at 05:24:58:
An interesting point Roger, particularly -
'There seems no doubt that the Collingwoods and Altounyans were not everyday people living everyday lives.'
In many families nicknames will still be used regardless of how nonsensical they may sound to outsiders.
As a child I was often called, particularly by my mother, 'finn' - why? From the old song/nursery rhyme "Michael Finnegan", she did not do so all the time, but she continued to do so on odd occasions until I was well in to my forties (and married!)
In the particular case we've all been discussing, the name in question is also sexual slang; but it is a word that is now freely used in journalism and literature etc. In the 1930s this would not have been the case, and so the use of the name in the original story and as child's nickname would not seem unusual in any way.
Post a followup (Only if you agree to the Terms and Conditions)